A sea of faces turned towards Fury as he ascended the small podium within an otherwise cavernous briefing room. Despite its size, the members of the five squads and other various officials were crowded, their discomfort countered only by their sense of curiosity. All had been called to the briefing with minimum notice, and unlike most squad missions, squad leaders were as unaware as their troopers as to what was going on.

Clearing his throat, Fury glanced over at Rizzit to check that all squads were seated, and at his slight nod brought the projector in front of him to life. The wall at his back whined on to display a large image of a hunched over, bright green rodian dressed in an ensemble of battered red gear.

"This is Fro-Ja Tsck, a low level mercenary that operates predominantly in the core region" Fury began, his voice steady, "12 hours ago army intelligence intercepted a transmission from Fro-Ja that was sent within the confines of VE controlled space and that was directed to one of our most dangerous enemies, Admiral Thrawn."

He paused momentarily as a ripple went through the assembled soldiers, followed by a few barked orders to regain silence. Unperturbed, Fury continued, "This message hinted at the fact that Fro-Ja had someone acquire some extremely sensitive information from somewhere higher in the VE military chain. Whilst we are not privy to the exact information that Fro-Ja informed Thrawn's people that he had, we do know that what this single Rodian now has the potential to give Admiral Thrawn a substantial upper hand during battles with us in the future."

"Are you saying this one rodian managed to infiltrate VE security?" The question came from Sergeant Darr-Rann, squad leader of the Raiders, who had been listening intently during Fury's talk.

Fury shook his head, "Not Fro-Ja himself. No. But someone else within the military, someone high enough to access crucial records. This phantom traitor is however, not our concern. Intelligence is currently working on flushing him out. Our concern is Fro-Ja, and preventing the information he carries from reaching Thrawn's hands."

"Do we know where Fro-Ja is going?" That was Garet, squad leader of the newly established Eclipse Squad, "And what we're going to be up against?"

"I don't need to tell any of you that Thrawn is a very real threat to the Vast Empire," Fury replied, settling his cool gaze on Garet, "During the transmission that Fro-Ja sent to Thrawn's people he expressed his concern about his security. As such we have reason to believe that Thrawn may direct him to a stronghold capable of holding off an assault."

"That's why we're all here," Garet said quietly, "We're pitting stormtrooper against stromtrooper, mech against mech. You're expecting one hell of a fight."

"Yes." Fury allowed his eyes to travel over the crowd before him, "Thrawn's forces are well trained and well equipped, and we only have a very short time in which to deal with them and intercept Fro-Ja."

"We have no idea where Fro-Ja currently is?" Sergeant Sam from the Dragoons spoke up, the array of horns protruding from his forehead glistening in the dim light of the projector.

It was Rizzit who answered, "Not yet. But all squads are to be ready for immediate departure once we know where he's going."

Silence filled the room as the severity of the situation began to set in. Faces of veteran soldiers turned grim as they recalled previous encounters with Thrawn, whilst the newer troopers became subdued, well aware of Thrawn's reputation to strike quickly and effectively against enemy forces. Fury, still standing in the center of the podium once again addressed the force before him, "You have your orders. Report back to your barracks and get yourselves sufficiently equipped for a long fight. Dismissed."

* * * * * *

Kami paced the breadth of Rizzit's office, her edginess showing through her usually calm demeanor. "It shouldn't be taking this long," She murmured, turning to where Rizzit and Kairo were seated at the large steel desk that was the main feature of the room, "Why is it taking so long?"

"I'm sure they're just double checking the information," Kairo responded, offering her a reassuring smile, "Calm. We'll be out of here soon enough."

Biting back a sigh, Kami spun on her heel and stalked over to the spare chair, folding her slim form within its confines, "They mentioned snow. If so, we're going to be pushed on supplies."

"We'll just have to do what we can," Rizzit said, leaning back in his chair and folding his fingers before him, "I don't care if we have to throw troopers down there in normal gear, we need to stop that mercenary from reaching Thrawn."

Silence reigned as yet another minute flashed by on the glowing chrono on the desk. All were painfully aware that with every minute that past, Fro-Ja was getting increasingly closer to his destination. The three officers had been on edge for the last few hours, organizing transport, supplies and soldiers without a destination in mind. Now they were simply hanging in limbo, waiting for intelligence to confirm his destination so they could issue new orders and get underway.

All jumped slightly as the small commlink in the center of the desk suddenly crackled to life, followed closely by a crisp male voice, "Colonel?"

Rizzit leaned forward to answer, "Speaking. Do we have a destination?"

"Illum," The voice responded, "A facility located in the lowlands of the planet. We'll transfer all the information we have on the system to you now."

The commlink went silent, then beeped, announcing that it had successfully received a file. Reaching down, Rizzit plugged his commlink into the nearest terminal, then loaded the file onto a screen where Kairo and Kami could see. All three quickly skimmed over the brief profile:

Illum

Region: Unknown Regions
System: Illum
Suns: 1
Climate: Cold
Primary Terrain: Ice, Snow, Mountains
Native Species: Gorgodons
Other: Originally a planet utilized by Jedi as a location to find crystals for lightsaber construction, Illum has been virtually deserted since the purge save for the odd pirate/mercenary nest nearby. The planet is currently the location of a small, yet heavily defended research facility believed to be under the protection of Thrawn.

"Gorgodon?" Kami questioned, "They have an attached file on those things?"

Rizzit's fingers skimmed over the console before him, opening an image of a large, furry and ferocious looking mammal bearing an impressive amount of sharp teeth.

"Egh," Kairo groaned, "Not only do they have a superb sense of smell, they kill their prey by binding them with a thick brown saliva, then crush them to death with their bodies. Charming."

"I gather they'd be rather hard to take down with a blaster too," Kami continued, still reading, "It says here that they possess a strong skeleton, and have multiple layers of muscle and fat for protection against the cold. Their primary hunting ground is also the lowlands, where the facility is located."

"Figures." Rizzit came to his feet, "We'll review this further on the way. At the moment we need to get in the air. Kami, inform Fury, Kairo, get the squads loaded up."

Both officers came to their feet and snapped briefly to attention, before turning and making their way to their designated tasks. Left alone in his office, Rizzit closed his eyes and ran both hands over his face, battling fatigue. By his judgment, the VE forces would only have a few hours in which to intercept Fro-Ja by the time they touched down. And to make it worse, he and the others currently had no idea what kind of forces they'd be up against when they finally touched down. They could only hope that intelligence would supply them with more information before they entered the system...

** Feel free to post here about receiving the call to arms, boarding the shuttle and the trip. Each squad will be on a different shuttle for the duration of the trip. Note that you are all in snowtrooper gear for this mission. One of the competition co-coordinators will intervene at the appropriate time and announce the beginning of Phase One, after which the squads will break up and pursue their different objectives. Make sure to carefully read the Scenario outline also on the boards before posting once Phase One has been initiated**

** Also note that all squad members must have a squad tag displayed in their signature for points to be awarded to their squad for story contribution. Post minimum is set at 200 words**

[This message has been edited by Kami
(edited December 12, 2006
5:52:15 PM)]
[This message has been edited by Kami
(edited December 12, 2006
5:56:29 PM)]

RizzitComNet Marshal

[VE-ARMY] Colonel

Post Number: 2192
Total Posts: 2943
Joined: Mar 2002
Status: Offline

RE: A Gift for Thrawn (HSC)

December 12, 2006
6:24:29 PM

Rizzit was glad ships didn't always need to be docked in a hangar all the time. Being the type of person that he was, having a skyhopper right outside the building was a luxury that he didn't want to go without on some days.This...was one of those days. Normally, he had a crew to talk with about the upcoming mission or whatever, but this time his Platoon Adjutant Kami was taking the trip with the Dark Dragons who she was currently helping out. Kairo, the Storm Platoon Commander was flying Nightstalkers Squad up in his ship due to the fact that he was their acting Squad Leader. Rizzit escorted his fellow officers out of the building, and headed over to the skyhopper parked outside. With no human passengers to help pilot the ship, he needed a smaller ship. His first choice would have been The Avenger his personal Starwind Yacht. Kami followed Rizzit to his ship, unsure that it was wise to leave her boss on his own.

"Ya know Rizz, you're more than welcome to fly with the Dragoons and me. There's plenty of room."

"I'll be fine Kami. AX-33 is an okay pilot, he'll get me there."

"Ya well, just promise me that I won't find you out of breath in the pilot's seat. Last time I found you panting in a stairwell..."

"I was out of breath!" Rizzit interrupted. "I've learned that I have to keep in shape when im sitting behind my desk all day. I will be fine. And stars help you if you mention this to anyone else!"

Kami laughed. "Relax Rizz...I won't tell a soul. I'll see you up on the Dominion." She said as she walked away, still laughing.

Women!Rizzit thought. I don't know if I prefer them angry of playful sometimes....

Rizzit boarded the skyhopper and made ready for takeoff. The ISD Dominion was stationed just above Tadath, so it wasn't that far of a trip. Before he knew it, Rizzit was being greeted by Fury who was welcoming him aboard. Fury had some last-minute plans he needed to run by Rizzit before the rest of the army arrived.

-----------------------Colonel Rizzit BlackHeart
Wildcard Platoon Commander
Phoenix Company Commander
Army of the Vast Empire
CC/PC/COL
Rizzit/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE[OPE][OTH][EW1][RCoD][CRoM][CoH][OPA][SoA][SoS][SCP]Everything expressed truly from your heart and soul is as pure as gold in the minds of anyone who listens!"--Rizzit

AeosComNet Veteran

[VE-ARMY] Sergeant[VE-DJO] Initiate[VE-VEEC] Gaming Reporter

Post Number: 1237
Total Posts: 3141
Joined: May 2005
Status: Offline

RE: A Gift for Thrawn (HSC)

December 12, 2006
6:31:58 PM

Raiders

Silence hung in the air. The dead body of Josu limply slumped in its chair. Darr-Rann's insides turned ice when Rogue declared Josu's death. Preditor's sniffing broke the silence. Darr-Rann heard him move about the room, but his eyes remained fixated on the body however.
"Found our technician," hissed the barabel. Darr-Rann turned around surprised, only to find a bigger surprise. Dripping blood down the floor, the technician hung limply from Preditor's strong grip, dead, his throat seemingly shredded.

Aeos's eyebrows dropped into the smallest of frowns. Get this over with! her mind yelled at the Grand General. Aeos has never been one to care about the details. If she was required for something, she would do it no questions asked, and whatever Fury seemed to be talking about was just another mission for Raiders to assist the Empire in taking another step forward or avoiding from going a step backward. She was an Imperial, but patriotism is not something she is known for.

She shifted her glance from Fury to the rest of the squad. Darr-Rann's face was contorted in concentration while nodding ever so often at some Fury stated, though Aeos knew that in the back of his mind, Mak's death still plagued him. It had the squad suspicious and shattered. Mak's death was supposed to be their doom as well.

The Raiders left together when they were dismissed. Darr-Rann would probably talk to them before each Raider shot off on his own. Aeos not very keen on this idea, refrained from sighing as she tried to keep up with the males. Her length and build did not allow her the strides her fellow Raider companions maneuvered, and she forced herself into a slight jog to keep up with them.

When they reached their barracks,each Raider plumped themselves on the few couches in the small room. Darr-Rann were standing at the door, crossing his arms while his eyes kept darting from one Raider to another. As the Raiders settled down, Darr-Rann cleared his throat.

"Firstly, we have a new trooper joining our ranks. Lance Corporal Leon," Darr-Rann gestured his hand to the door, a slender build teenager with dirty blond hair stared at the Raiders. For a few moments it was silent as the teenager ruffled his hair in nervousness. Rogueboy chuckled.
"Frakked, I thought Aeos is young...but this is young! Welcome to the squad kid."

[This message has been edited by Aeos
(edited December 13, 2006
1:32:11 AM)]

YillisComNet Member

[VE-ARMY] Corporal[VE-VEEC] Gaming Reporter

Post Number: 830
Total Posts: 1598
Joined: Mar 2005
Status: Offline

RE: A Gift for Thrawn (HSC)

December 12, 2006
7:05:06 PM

Yillis waited outside the briefing room with the Wraiths till Snipes finally stumbled out, and when he finally did asked, "Man what's wrong with you?"

"Ish dunno. Whash wrong wit you."

Yillis picked up a familiar aroma in the air, and decided not to press the issue. Arnaut then spoke, "Ok guys, lets move out, back to the barracks."

They all decided to walk together, outside. Tnepres broke the silence by asking, "What do you think it's gonna be like?" Aranut responded, "I dunno yet, they are waiting to get the planet where we're going."

"Hopefully it's not too bad." Yillis said, while supporting Snipes on his shoulder.

The sun was beating down on the squad as they finally reached their barracks. Once inside the dungeonish Wraith home, Arnaut addressed the squad, "Get all your stuff together and ready, we don't know when we're taking off. And remember, pack for a long flight like Fury said."

The squad all did a simultaneous nod at the squad leader and all headed off to their own rooms, Yillis helping Snipes get to his room.

"I'm so disappointed in you Snipes. You went to the briefing room in this state. I'm completely appalled. I'm almost at a lack for words. How could you leave me out?"

Yillis just pouted as he went to his own room to prepare for the flight.

Leon took a deep breath before walking into the Raiders Barracks, not really knowing why he was so nervous. But he was excited at the same time, knowing that he would be working with his good friend Aphamos, and also one of his partners, Rogueboy, at the Galactic Games in Euceron. But unfortunately, his mission had been cut short right when things were starting to get fun. His mother had gotten a rare illness which had put her in a near death state, and the medical facilities on Tatooine weren't equipped with the medicines and treatments she needed to survive. Even though Leon didn't like abandoning his squad like that, he had to. His mother had helped him through the hardest of times, and without her, he wouldn't know what to do. So he left to Tatooine and picked up his mother, and then hurried her off to Coruscant which had the medical equipment that could deal with that kind of illness. But it wasn't easy for Leon, and nothing close to a vacation. Even though the medicines they gave her helped, it was also up to her and whether she had the will to survive. It was horrible to see the one that you loved, go through so much pain, and there was nothing you could do about it. And after two months of passing in and out of consciousness and recuperation, she fully recovered.

When Leon returned to the VE, he found that he had been moved to another squad, and it was one which he had always wanted to join, Raiders. Leon couldn't have been happier, knowing that he would be working with Aphamos and Rogueboy again, and would also meet many new friends. And now, here he was standing nervously in front of the barracks door, duffel bag in hand. Here goes nothing. Leon thought as the door opened before him, revealing what was within. And just as he walked through, he heard someone say, "Firstly, we have a new trooper joining our ranks. Lance Corporal Leon."

Leon instinctively brought his hand up to his hair and rubbed it through, one of the many nervous habits he had. A familiar voice then spoke up, breaking the ice.
"Frakked, I thought Aeos is young...but this is young! Welcome to the squad kid."
Rogueboy said, a huge grin spreading across his face.

But before any other introductions were made, his new squad leader (who Leon didn't know the name of.) spoke up. "Sorry to cut this meeting short guys, but we have to start packing, save the introductions for later. We have plenty of time to talk on the way there."

Leon gave a quick nod as the squad left to there dorms, getting what ever they needed to bring with them on this mission. Man it feels great to be back. This is gonna be fun. Leon thought as he hurried off to his new dorm, feeling better then ever before.

-----------------------Raiders
May god have mercy upon my enemies, for I will show none.
TRP/LCP Leon/3SQD/1PLT/1CMP/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA
And so we go.
I am the one...The one who made the 100,000 post.

[This message has been edited by Leon
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10:52:01 AM)]
[This message has been edited by Leon
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10:52:33 AM)]
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10:53:04 AM)]
[This message has been edited by Leon
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10:54:39 AM)]

TnepresComNet Initiate

[VE-ARMY] Private First Class

Post Number: 173
Total Posts: 585
Joined: Nov 2006
Status: Offline

RE: A Gift for Thrawn (HSC)

December 12, 2006
8:02:41 PM

Wraith Squad

Talstorin opened his room, stepping inside. He collapsed onto the bed for a moment. The mattress was nice and comfortable, something Talstorin appreciated as he had only just gotten back from the Wraith mission. It had only been a day ago and they were immediately called into the briefing room right after. He looked at his bags by the door, full from the previous trip, at least he wouldn't have to do much more packing. He shut his eyes, he wanted to go to sleep so much. Yet, he couldn't. They would have to leave soon. What a crummy day

A knock came on his door. "Ug. . ." groaned Talstorin as he sluggishly got up from his bed, walking to open the door. He found Arnaut by the door. "Oh hi," Talstorin greeted Arnaut, a bit surprised to see Arnaut so soon.

"I've just come to inform everyone that you'll need to wear your storm commando armor for this mission. You can get it from the stock room along with some uniform weapons." Arnaut left with that, heading towards Yillis's room. Talstorin frowned and sighed, closing his door. It looked like he had some more packing to do than he had hoped for. Turning to his bags he got to work.

______

A few minutes later, he found himself in his storm commando armor. It was more restricted than his guard armor but it would do good enough. He walked around, attempting to get used to it as he switched between the different types of visions on his helmet. He toyed around with his things for a while before stopping to look at the time. He still had a while.

He sat down, the bed creaking under his weight with the added weight of the armor. Dragging his pack next to him, he opened it and began to take out his personal things. He dropped in the weapons he got from the stock room and some ration packs. Along with those, he dropped a few things he felt was necessary, including his "Verdicator" scanner. While rummaging through his pack, his hands touched against something cold. Withdrawing his hands from shock, he blew on them and then took out the object he had touch. The photo frame again. He stared at it and half frowned, half smiled. Sarah.

The mission he had came from was unexpected to say the least. Little did he expect to actually come in contact with Sarah there, as at first it seemed like an illusion completely. He wasn't sure whether he still wanted to keep in contact with her. A part of him burned with anger, hating her for what she did to him. He was not one to easily forgive betrayel, especially from a person he was so close to, someone he trusted his secrets to, his feelings. In fact, she had been the only one he trusted so much, but she crushed that trust so easily. Still, the rest of him still felt feelings for her, and for the most part, when he thought of her, it was something good about her. There was one daydream especially, a memory rather, that he encountered a lot recently.

There was a knock on the door. It was soft and yet loud enough to hear. Durandal approached the door, only to be knocked back Talstorin, who had rushed in. Durandal fell back, falling over a chair. "Ow," he glared at his roommate while rubbing his legs. The apartment was getting cramped. The two had been living in the apartment for about a year then. Talstorin ignored the glare, opening the door eagerly. There by the doorway stood a girl, standing 5'9. Her slim figure fit into her light green dress nicely, her red hair tied into a pony tail, which reached down to the back of her knees. She smiled softly, lifting up a picnic basket.

Durandal stared at the doorway, watching Talstorin as he talked to her. Shaking his head, he sighed. It was hopeless, Talstorin was supposed to kill her for a job and though he still had months left for his deadline, it was obvious to Durandal that his infatuated companion wasn't going to finish the job. At first to get closer to his target, Talstorin's activities with Sarah, the girl, had became so frequent it was obvious he had forgotten his objective. They were close friends now, something Durandal knew would ruin things for Talstorin and probably himself.

"Ready for the picnic?" the girl ask, in a medium tone that was at the higher end of the pitch scale.

Talstorin grinned and nodded, grabbing his coat. "Of course." He stepped out and shut the door, walking out with Sarah. The door closed quietly, leaving Durandal in the room, shaking his head. Talstorin was usually clear-minded and quick thinking, along with a lack of showing emotions. What had happened to him now?

"GET READY TO GO SOON GUYS, WRAP THINGS UP AND MEET AT THE HANGER," yelled Arnaut. Talstorin groaned as he crawled off his bed. His bones ached a bit. He put down the picture on his desk, finding a necklace on his desk. Just remembering it was there, he picked it up with his right hand and looked at it. He had gotten it the last mission, in the most peculiar way too. Clenching the necklace, he formed a fist and held it for a while. Finally, he placed it back down and opened the door. Talstorin grabbed his heavy bag and walked out, heading towards the hanger. It was show time.

Sarah giggled as flowers blew towards her, falling to the grass after they hit her gently. "Hey," she said, between giggles, "stop that."

Talstorin shook his head with a grin, throwing more flowers. "Give me back the coat and ill stop."

His request was met with a shaking of head. Sarah laughed as she placed the coat away from him. A light breeze blew, sending a blissful fragrance in the two's direction. Talstorin sniffed the air and smiled before taking a bite out of his sandwich. It was a nice day, the star was out and the skies were clear. Sarah smiled as well, falling onto her back. She looked up at the clear blue sky, causing Talstorin to follow her lead, leaning back as well.

"It's such a beautiful day," said Sarah finally. Talstorin nodded with agreement. She spoke again. "Hey, lets take pictures."

Talstorin laughed, replying quickly. "They can only be of you" he spoke, "I'm just too ugly. I'd ruin the picture." She pouted and tapped his shoulder lightly.

"Stop bringing yourself down." She got up and stood by a tree. Talstorin laughed and got up.

"Make a pose," he said. She slumped against the tree, her left arm clenching the side of it. A breeze blew; petals flew behind Sarah, her hair blowing to the left as well. Talstorin took the picture. Right on time. A perfect day. A perfect picture. Perhaps he found his soulmate. That was the sentence that came to mind. He forgot that they were just friends. And perhaps, it would stay that way Forever

-----------------------In the brightest light,
We find darkness...-=Wraith Squad=--=TRP=-TRP/PFC Tnepres/4SQD/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE[LoR]Memoirs of a Withered Soul- Compendium of Short Stories on Talstorin's Background/Story of Talstorin and Durandal( out now- read it on army story board)Happy Holidays! Cause Wraith is going to leave you others in the dust for the HSC

[This message has been edited by Tnepres
(edited December 12, 2006
8:31:59 PM)]
[This message has been edited by Tnepres
(edited December 13, 2006
9:20:35 PM)]
[This message has been edited by Tnepres
(edited December 14, 2006
5:32:43 PM)]

ArnautComNet Cadet

[VE-ARMY] Lance Corporal

Post Number: 274
Total Posts: 903
Joined: Jan 2006
Status: Offline

RE: A Gift for Thrawn (HSC)

December 12, 2006
8:44:25 PM

Arnaut walked back to the Wraith barracks, his shiny boots coming down in a perfect pattern on the flagstones beneath his feet. It was good to be back, and off of that...that horrible, horrible asteroid. Arnaut shuddered involuntarily. Another name to add to the list of places he never wanted to see again.

Arnaut's officer uniform in it's perfect crispness was a contrast to Arnaut's haggard face. The last mission had been...rough, to say the least. You didn't go to the brink of insanity and come back without some transient side effects. He stomach growled. He was hungry, but he didn't notice. They were set to be leaving fairly soon, and food was near the end of his list of things to do.

In his room, he quickly snatched up his rifle and threw it into the bag lying at the foot of his bed. A few clips went in after, followed by ration packs, med kits, spare clothes, his pistols, a few grenades. Everything a lengthy mission would require. As an after-thought, he lobbed in a couple of extra knives. Never too many...

Donning his dull, black commando armor, he picked up his pack and strolled out the door. Yillis fell into step next to him, his identical visor reflecting the little light the lamps in the Wraith barracks gave off.

Raising his voice, Arnaut called out, "GET READY TO GO SOON GUYS, WRAP THINGS UP AND MEET AT THE HANGAR!" They seemed to get the message, so he moved on down the corridor. The squad was almost ready, from what he could tell looking into rooms. His squad. The last mission might've been hard on them, but, by the Emperor, they were persevering.

"Oh it'll go fine. This should be a clean mission, straight from the books." His job as a squad leader was to not only lead the troops, but bolster them morally. At that moment, Arnaut was starting to get the same bad feeling he had gotten before the last mission. The soldiers couldn't know though. Plus, things would go smoothly. Just so long as no one messes up...

The hangar was quite large, various ships cluttering the interior of the bay. The shuttles didn't appear to be in yet, so Arnaut and Yillis resigned themselves to sitting against the wall and chatting. Slowly by slowly Wraiths began to trickle in until only Snipes was missing. No sign of the two shuttles were to be found either. Arnaut was growing impatient.

Other squads began to flock into the hangar, and eventually it became very crowded. Still no Snipes though. What could be taking him so long?

"Take care of your equipment, and your equipment will take care of you"

"Life is a dream; we all wake up eventually."

[This message has been edited by Arnaut
(edited December 12, 2006
8:44:44 PM)]
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8:50:34 PM)]
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9:15:35 PM)]

Sniping101ComNet Disciple

[VE-ARMY] Gunnery Sergeant

Post Number: 2840
Total Posts: 3937
Joined: Oct 2002
Status: Offline

RE: A Gift for Thrawn (HSC)

December 12, 2006
9:13:26 PM

(Wraith Squad)

Snipes popped the pair of pills into his mouth and swallowed them, fallowing them with a quick drink from a can by his side, he held stale beer. Snipes didn't care, his reflection in the mirror was unshaven and ruffled, Snipes could already feel the hangover even though the liquor hadn't quite worn off. Of course he knew what he needed to do and he was going to do it drunk of no, he grabbed the scissors off the counter and swung his pony tail around, placing the scissors carefully he bit his lip and closed his eyes, then cut, he nearly let out a sob before opening his eyes, he'd cut his hair just above the cloth he used to tie it back, now the brown hair hung just above his shoulders, just straight at the bottom all the way around, he didn't like it, he hated it, but he had done it and there was no changing it.

Sighing, he put his helmet on, adjusting the storm commando armor so that it fit just right, he wasn't a fan of armor, but it was necessary, Snipes left the refresher then, in time to watch the last member of Wraith leave, Snipes hurried until to the door, grabbing his own duffel on the way out, then out the door he went. As he jogged, trying to catch up to the other black armored soldiers, he went over the Wraiths standard load out in his mind, until he came to the piece that kept irritating him, ESPO Riot Guns, What kind of weapon is that for a squad of our talents? Snipes knew he needed to do something about it, he also knew he needed to work off the alcohol in his system. So instead of heading towards the hanger bay he took a different turn, that wound it's way into the city.

Later

Arnaut was leaning against a support pillar, still waiting on Snipes, the fool was running even later than he usually did, and that was saying something. Snipes sloppiness had always been easy to overlook before, but he might just have pushed it too far this time, showing up to the briefing drunk and disheveled, now he was running late to the pickup, true the shuttles hadn't arrived yet, but if one of the commanders popped by, especially one that knew Snipes, and they saw him missing, well, the trooper would be AWOLed and Arnaut would get a severe talking to, neither of which sounded like any fun.

Arnaut stood around for another few minutes, then as he was about to try calling Snipes again, he saw a cart careening towards them, behind it was a trooper clad in the black Commando armor, obviously Snipes. As the cart came closer, Arnaut considered diving behind the pillar, but it pulled up just short of actually hitting anyone or anything. Obviously out of breath, Arnaut decided to pounce on the gunnery sergeant while he had the chance, however Snipes pulled the lid off the crate and between grasps for air managed.

"I. . .got you all. . .presents. . .new guns."

Upon further inspection it became obvious that Snipes had procured some fancy new weaponry for the squad.

"I think these will be a little better than those ESPO's I do greatly despise." Snipes said, recovering as the rest of the squad pulled out a Stormtrooper Two carbine and tossed their ESPO in it's place.

"We were wondering why you'd been gone so long, as much as i appreciate it, you could have gotten us all into some trouble." Arnaut warned, Snipes though, being himself, waved his hand dismissively, and Arnaut knew there was no point pushing it, Snipes didn't care enough to argue about it.

"You remembered to feed Fury, right?" Yillis blurted, out of the blue.

Snipes waved his hand again, "Of course I did, I also got this girl I know to come by and feed him while we're away."

The Storm hangar was busier than normal. The air was filled with an almost deafening mixture of horns, sirens, and other general sounds of work. Hangar workers ran around with brightly colored ear muffs to protect themselves in all the noise, while Garet sat up in the observation booth, protected from the sounds by a thick layer of glass. The sudden announcement of battle had everyone panicking around the Eclipse barracks; the task of quickly assembling all the equipment wasn't an easy one, and they were running on deadlines. Garet's job for the moment was to oversee the loading. It was a mundane task at best, but it served as his opportunity to find out what Eclipse would be equipped with.

First up were the Overracers. The regular reddish brown had been crudely covered by white spray paint and cloth, Garet guessed for maximum camouflage. They were slowly and carefully loaded onto the transport ship, one by one, to where they could easily be dispatched when landed. Next to be brought on board was the explosives Eclipse was being equipped with. A large sized crate with the word "Volatile" stamped in red on the side was being wheeled into the ship's cargo area. The crate seemed a bit much, but maybe they would need it all. The crews were about to load a second crate (much to Garet's shock; the amount of explosives was now quite obtuse) when Garet's datapad beeped with a message. It was time to get to Ilum.

Garet's office was dark and cluttered with spare parts to weapons and other junk he'd been collecting since he became SL. He shoved some of it off his desk and grabbed a vocal receiver attached to his desk. He spoke into it, and his voice was echoed throughout the entire barracks.

"Alright boys, this is it. Get your gear and get on the transport within five minutes. Bring only the designated equipment."

With a crackle the announcement ended. Garet grabbed his tightly packed duffel bag and headed towards the transport. Footsteps behind him confirmed that his squad was following.

Life is for the strong, to be lived by the strong, and, if needs be, taken by the strong. The weak of the world were put here to give the strong pleasure. I am strong. Why should I not use my gift?
-Zaroff, Most Dangerous Game

Rogueboy and five other troopers from Raiders brought the coffin to the funeral pyre. The entire Raiders squad was here to pay their respects to their fallen comrade in arms. Darr stood up to say a speech.

"Mak'Tur Josu was a rookie into the stormtrooper corps but foremost he was a Raider, and today we mourn our fallen, an official investigation has been launched in regards to his death."

With those final words Darr turned towards the corpse and whispers.

"Sorry I failed you."

All the other troopers took turns saying their final words, it would appear Mak was new to Tadath as there was no family or friends only the ones he made in the army. When it came to Rogue's turn he pulled out his necklace that he never takes off and held the talisman at the end of it with one hand and said a prayer to Sucellus the god of war.

"Even though we may die the unit lives,
and as such we avenge,
and the unit never forgives,
you shall be revenged."

Rogue kissed the talisman and pulled out his combat knife he cut the tip of his finger and applied pressure to allow a single drop to fall on Mak's body. Darr applied a lit torch and Mak's body lit up the squad watched as it slowly burned, and they slowly departed one by one. There wouldn't be time for a wake as they would be on the freezing planet of Illum, Rogue generally liked snowy planets as most enemies do not wear white unfortunately it was not the case this time the enemy will be dressed just like his allies and friendly fire will become a major issue. Rogue let out a groan and decided to head back to the Raider's barracks he will have to send messages to his friends and family saying that he will be out of the planet for an unexpected amount of time due to various schedule changes and hope he will be out of his apartment before he gets worried responses.

As Rogue was walking back to his apartment he received a message from Aphamos requesting that he meet him at a café/bar, he said it would mean a lot to the squad. Rogue allowed himself a grin he always liked Aphamos and respected him, and now that Leon was transferred out of reserves Rogue felt even more at home with the Raiders. Rogue headed towards Axis a café bar on Peel Street.

-----------------------Raiders
Faithful To The EndHe will give them death, and they will love him for it -Gladiator

[This message has been edited by Rogueboy
(edited December 13, 2006
1:38:16 AM)]
[This message has been edited by Rogueboy
(edited December 13, 2006
3:14:29 PM)]

ArnautComNet Cadet

[VE-ARMY] Lance Corporal

Post Number: 275
Total Posts: 903
Joined: Jan 2006
Status: Offline

RE: A Gift for Thrawn (HSC)

December 12, 2006
10:30:53 PM

Arnaut inspected the new gun. Finely made, the carbines were. Packed quite a punch and yet...small enough to be concealed under a cloak. It gleamed in the morning sunlight. It would need to be dulled down before they ever got in the field, and possibly even sprayed white. Which reminded him their armor was all black. They'd never survive in the snow.

"Alright guys, gather 'round." Wraith squad huddled around him. "We're going to be in a snowy environment...that means on the trip there, each of you should get your armor painted white. There's no need to--" Merrick cut him off, walking up behind the huddled group.

"Well, I hope nothing is awry over here," she said casually, joining the group.

"Why nothing at all, ma'am," Arnaut replied respectfully.

"You know you can't wear that armor, right?" She said nonchalantly. The squad stared. "Hey, I hate to be the bringer of bad news, but someone had to tell you. We need to go in uniform. Blend in with their troopers. You need to change into these snow suits we had provided for you." It took a moment to sink in. Snipes was the first one to speak up.

"You mean that...we, as wraith squad can't...can't wear our standard armor, and have to trade it out for that bulky junk over there? While we're doing an infiltration mission?"

"Well, that's about the gist of it. The snow suits are better prepared for the mission, and will help you blend in with the forces inside the base."

"Well, not meaning to be insubordinate or anything, but...we're not going there to make friends! We're sneaking in to blow their ships to small, tiny, undetectable bits!" Snipes said enthusiastically.

"Fine, fine, I'm willing to cut a deal. You can ditch your snowsuits after getting past the enemy lines. I'm not the bad guy here." Snipes smiled, followed shortly by the rest of the squad. "Don't let me down." With that she turned and walked away.

"Alright, so we'll ditch the suits for the time being. But be sure to pack em' with you. I don't know about you all, but I don't fancy sneaking around in a snow trooper outfit." The squad chuckled lightly.

"Alright, let's get this show moving. Wraith squad...make me proud."

The shuttles had started to arrive, one after another, landing on the smoothed ground of the hangar. With a shudder and a spluttering, the ships' engines died.

Arnaut glanced down at his chrono-meter. Still thirty minutes 'till departure. Sitting down next to one of the pillars, and nodded of into a quick sleep.

"Take care of your equipment, and your equipment will take care of you"

"Life is a dream; we all wake up eventually."

[This message has been edited by Arnaut
(edited December 12, 2006
10:31:21 PM)]
[This message has been edited by Arnaut
(edited December 13, 2006
9:15:14 PM)]

PhenixComNet Initiate

[VE-ARMY] Corporal

Post Number: 159
Total Posts: 186
Joined: Sep 2005
Status: Offline

RE: A Gift for Thrawn (HSC)

December 12, 2006
11:21:56 PM

Phenix watched as the last speeder was loaded into the transport. The massive machinery always amazed Phenix, which brought back memories of the first day he wanted to join the Empire. That night he saw the Imperial ships blasting through the atmosphere of his home planet changed his life forever...for the better, though, Phenix had yet to determine.

The last trooper boarded the ship with Garet and Phenix close behind, every engaged in idle chat amongst themselves. Garet shut the door behind them and waited for them to settle in.

"Now that we're all together here, I just wanted to point out a few things, which I'm sure you're all aware of already," he said, gathering their undivided attention. "This mission will be a little different from anything you may have dealt with before. Since we're facing other Imperials, our basic tactics will obviously be no good."

Phenix, who just stood beside his squad leader, simply nodded his head in agreement.

"We'll have to be extra careful to look out for our newest soldiers. As long as we stay a team, we stand a much better chance than a handful of lost soldiers," Garet wisely advised. "I will be here to direct you for the whole duration of the mission, so don't worry about splitting up this time."

Garet stepped aside and let Phenix begin the next part of their introduction. "You should have all read the guide to these Overracers by now. Not a lot to know, just be aware that we aren't exactly relying on firepower. Think fast, not aggressive. If you fall off, we can't come back for you either."

Phenix handed them all a small map of the base and the route that would get them through the barrier easiest. Garet and himself had drew it up the night before, figuring out the physics of the region and where they would draw the least fire.

With a half-smile, Garet waved his crew out. "Get some rest while we're still here. Once we get on our ship you won't have much of a chance to sleep." With that, the squad got up and found the small excuse of a sleeping quarter and bunked themselves in. Only hours away from imminent death and destruction...once again.

-----------------------
Corporal Phenix
Storm Platoon
Army of the Vast EmpireEclipseSquad

ASL/CPL Phenix/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1REG/VEA/VE [LoR]

"Let me help you tie the rope around your neck..."

[This message has been edited by Phenix
(edited December 15, 2006
12:13:55 AM)]

RogueboyComNet Member

[VE-ARMY] Corporal

Post Number: 661
Total Posts: 2089
Joined: Dec 2005
Status: Offline

RE: A Gift for Thrawn (HSC)

December 13, 2006
1:11:54 AM

Raiders

Rogue walked into Axis the smell of smoke and unwashed bodies greeted his nose, he quickly spotted Aphamos and Leon sitting in a booth in the corner a droid approached and asked for how many, Rogue ignored him and went to go sit with his squadmates who looked like they just finished a meal and started on their first pitcher of Rodian ale.

"Hey guys whats up?"

Aphamos was the first to speak.

"Hey Alex, I wanted you to come here so we can show this new Raider what its like to be a Raider."

Aphamos said with a grin that reminded Rogue of nothing more than a child who won the candy lottery.

"Also when we go in the field you are assigned with Aeos on an E-web that Darr had to pull a couple of strings in order to get."

Rogue ran that through his head, since it takes two people in order to utilize an E-web at its maximum efficiency and since Aeos has senior ranking Rogue would be relegated to the duty of making sure the Eksoan Class-4T3 power generator does not overload by adjusting the power levels every so often. The E-web has always surprised Rogueboy with the Gk3 Cryocooler it still overheated, the damn thing could fire for an hour straight running at maximum power but after that hour it would overload and explode maiming or killing the operators or even less time should the generator become damaged in either transport or combat that time could be easily reduced.

"I'm game, what are we waiting for? Droid bring me two pitchers of some Rodian piss."

"I'm sorry sir but the odds of that happening are 341234...."

"Never tell me the odds, just get me two pitchers of Rodian ale."

With that the droid headed off into the general direction of the bar to pour the drinks. Leon turned to speak to Aphamos and Rogueboy.

"Do you think this mission is going to be harder than the others?"

Aph spoke first.

"I expect it to be, General Thrawn's armies are just as well trained as we are, their officers are veterans. We will just have to be smarter than them and readjust our tactics if necessary."

Rogue did a simplified version of what Aphamos just said.

"What he is saying is that if we get our arses served to us we will come back with better tactics and send them home with their tails between their legs, I would feel more comfortable joining with Thrawn but that's life."

The other two soldiers looked at Rogue with astonishment in their eyes, and Rogue just realized he said something really stupid, which was not abnormal for him, but its the first time he has voiced anti-VE sentiments especially so soon after a possible traitor in their midsts. Rogue tried to keep control of himself but he could feel his face turning red, and tried to change the subject.

"So...how about those drinks?"

The droid came and Rogue slapped twenty credits into the droids register.

-----------------------Raiders
Faithful To The EndHe will give them death, and they will love him for it -Gladiator

[This message has been edited by Rogueboy
(edited December 13, 2006
1:23:46 AM)]
[This message has been edited by Rogueboy
(edited December 13, 2006
3:14:48 PM)]

AeosComNet Veteran

[VE-ARMY] Sergeant[VE-DJO] Initiate[VE-VEEC] Gaming Reporter

Post Number: 1240
Total Posts: 3141
Joined: May 2005
Status: Offline

RE: A Gift for Thrawn (HSC)

December 13, 2006
1:57:28 AM

Aeos watched the dying embers of the fire that has nearly disintegrated Mak's features. Aeos shook her head and shifted her glance to Darr-Rann. She hasn't known her squad-leader very long but she could already gather he would took each death he encountered personally as his own failure. She reached her hand out and placed it on his shoulder.

"Not your fault Dee, don't hammer this on yourself." she muttered softly giving a gentle squeeze.
"Don't get attached to someone's death. You being our squad-leader, you will see allot more deaths in your lifetime, especially while you are enlisted as a Imperial." Aeos tugeg him around to face her. His tall frame overpowered her easily, but her set stare did not waver for a bit.

Darr-Rann cocked his head to the side. A melancholic grin was tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"You sound like someone I know,"
The comment caused Aeos to throw her head back, laughing.
"Hopefully your mother, now lets get back to the barracks. You need a drink and we need to christen our newest trooper."
Darr-Rann chuckled lightly at this.

"Hi there guys, mind if we join in?" Aeos grinned down at Rogue and Aphamos. She had both her arms firmly attached to Darr-Rann and Leon who both seemed hesitant about Aeos' enthusiasm.
"Yeah, sure, mightas well get to know my E-Web buddy a bit better," said Rogue as he downed his glass.
Aeos grinned as she quickly place another round of orders on the poor droid who's multi-tasking capabilities were clearly being challenged today.

Kara Elith was more than your standard Imperial officer. Technically a Naval officer, she was under the command of the Stormtrooper Corps, as was her crew. This made her a maverick and an outcast to her fellow naval comrades and an outsider to the close-knit Stormies she carted around the galaxy. Occasionally she worked with the regular army, but even they had their own insular community.

At least the Prefect tried to make his orphaned sailors feel at home.

"Checking for decent grub for my crew General," she replied.

"On Tadath? You must have bare pantries up there. Let me get you a requisition for a shipment from Cephany. At least they grow food there. We just have the same packaged crap you get, except our ration packs aren't glossy silver like your's."

"If you say so sir. I really just wanted to talk a walk in open air before we go off on another campaign."

Fury nodded. "I can understand that. Walk with me for a bit then. I know a decent caf joint in the civilian sector."

"I'll take your word for it. I don't get off the Dominion much anymore. We've been revamping all systems since the FRAM update after Bestine." Elith sighed with a wearied emphasis.

"Oh please, you aren't in trouble. I understand. I helped capture the thing in the first place and I know about as much as you do what hell that ship has been through.

"Look, this is a quick in-and-out mission. It has to be; otherwise we're all in trouble. I'd like to say I'll be along for the ride, but I'm not sure. I have a lot of irons in the fire."

Elith nodded. "Shouldn't you be sorting through a stack of pre-mission datapads, at that?"

Fury shrugged. "No need really. I've been gone so long and so often that my staff knows what to do. I'm almost irrelevant these days unfortunately. Hopefully something I can fix soon. I don't even know half of the troopers I'm sending into battle. And that stinks more than anything else.

"Meanwhile, I can take my favorite line officer out for a cup of caf and try to promise you that we won't even cause you to lose a hull plate this time."

"Fat chance of making me believe that General, but I'll take the free drink."

Riqimo jumped at his datapad beeping for an incoming message, almost knocking over his drink. Bringing up the message, he saw it was from Garet about the Eclipse Squad's first mission."Alright boys, this is it. Get your gear and get on the transport within five minutes. Bring only the designated equipment."
Riqimo shrugged and went back to his drink, We don't leave for another four hours, I got time for some more drinks...
Suddenly Riqimo's datapad beeped again, causing him to put his drink down yet again, Garet again, hope I'm not in trouble.
"Riqimo, on the last message, you need to bring a bit more than standard equipment. Since you are our medic, I want you to head to the medical wing and pick up some supplies for us to use on this mission, We don't need to lose anyone on our first mission."
Taking a last swallow of his drink and paying the barkeep, Riqimo headed to the medical facility.

---Back in Eclipse Barracks---

"Hey Riqqy, what's up?" Jelly Bean asked as Riqimo entered the barracks.
"Just doing my medic duties," Riqimo replied as he dropped all the medical supplies on his bunk and began organizing them. There goes 15,000 credits, sigh.
"Oh cool, need a hand?" RK asked coming over.
"Not unless you know the difference between Mertine and Myrine," Riqimo said as he refused help I gotta have this exactly right so I know where everything is exactly, now where did I put the Crelenex?
"Any ideas what we should do for personal weapons?" Jelly asked, looking over Riqimo's shoulder.
"I dunno, Garet doesn't want us to bring anything extra. So I'm not bringing anything really, probably just a wrist laser if Garet allows that."

---In a meeting room---

Once everyone in Eclipse had squeezed in the small meeting room the Garet had reserved for them.
While Garet went out to talk to Phenix a little, Riqimo asked Typex to come over.
"What you need?" Typex questioned.
"I just want to calibrate my Verdicator for the Bothan species," Riqimo told him as he pushed a few buttons on his wristband.
"What is that?" Jag asked.
Riqimo answered, "It's pretty much a sensor built to look like a bracelet or armband. It scans a single target within 10 meters and reads basic information as heart rate, pupil dilation, and temperature. It then cross-references this information with an internal database to determine the likely emotional state of the target. It transmits this information to its wearer through a set of simples pulses. Instead of using it for intelligence or spying purposes though, I use it for medical resaons. It's a real simple unobtrusive way to get details on my patients, thus I made it a permanent addition to my med kit. Since the squad has humans and a Bothan and the Verdicator can be programmed for only one species at a time, I am wearing two. Left arm for Human and Right for Bothan."

Subtle and insubstantial, the expert leaves no trace; divinely mysterious, he is inaudible. Thus he is master of his enemy's fate.

[This message has been edited by Riqimo
(edited December 14, 2006
5:40:34 PM)]

YillisComNet Member

[VE-ARMY] Corporal[VE-VEEC] Gaming Reporter

Post Number: 836
Total Posts: 1598
Joined: Mar 2005
Status: Offline

RE: A Gift for Thrawn (HSC)

December 13, 2006
11:28:13 AM

Yillis noticed that Arnaut was falling asleep against a pillar, he waited until it looked like the squad leader had just passed out, ran over and kicked him in the kidney.

"AHH! What the hell!" Arnaut started yelling. Yillis could barely help from laughing as he said, "Oh jeez bud, didn't see you there."

"Oh you'll see me there next time."

"Uh, Is that supposed to make sense?"

"Shush you."

"You'll have lots of time to sleep on the way, plus I need to talk to you about something."

"Well what is it?"

Yillis got visibly uncomfortable, and meekly said, "I've uh...uh...I've never been on a swoop before."

Arnaut burst out laughing, and much to the dismay of Yillis the rest of the squad came over to see what the commotion was. Aranut felt the need to explain it to them, "Hey guys guys, listen to this, Yillis has never been on a swoop before, hahaha!"

Yillis replied with a some anger, "HEY! It's not funny! They are so dangerous! I don't know how they do it, they can get up to like 600 k/h!"

Tnepres just started laughing harder, "Wow our ASL is a coward."

Yillis just gave him a stern look, "Wow Talstorin is a Gungan First Class."

Yillis' statement cut all the laughter pretty quick, except Arnaut's. But Snipes just patted Yillis on the shoulder, "I'll show you the tricks of the trade, but you'll have to owe me."

[This message has been edited by Yillis
(edited December 13, 2006
11:29:04 AM)]

Sniping101ComNet Disciple

[VE-ARMY] Gunnery Sergeant

Post Number: 2842
Total Posts: 3937
Joined: Oct 2002
Status: Offline

RE: A Gift for Thrawn (HSC)

December 13, 2006
1:23:53 PM

(Wraith Squad)

Snipes was still smiling when the shuttles came in, the whole squad turned as their shuttle set down, half a meter from Yillis' back, the squad moved to the side as the loading ramp went down and a dock officer of some sort stepped out, He surveyed them for a moment before deciding which one he believed to be the Squad Leader, he chose correctly and stepped over to Arnaut. He was old and tired and had obviously been around long enough not to be intimidated by a set of black armor.

Snipes tapped Yillis on the shoulder; while Arnaut and the officer talked, they herded the squad together and got them loaded on the transport, their Swoops were already loaded, as was the rest of their equipment shockingly enough. So it was only a matter of getting settled in and ready to take off while they waited for Arnaut to get squared away with the dock officer. It only took a few minutes before Arnaut strode in, hitting the button for the loading hatch to close on his way to the cockpit. The dock officer did not come with them.

After a few minutes Arnaut came back out of the cockpit, as soon as the door closed he pulled his helmet off and shook his head. "Alright gang, we need set up our TacNet, this will allow us to identify each squad member via a holo-layout within our helmets HUD. Thus avoiding confusion. Also, we've been issued these," Arnaut pulled a small black square out of one of his belt pouches, "This is a little transmitter that operates at a low frequency, sending out encrypted location signals to allied receivers, our normal comm. arrays should pick these up and tie them into the TacNet as well, this will allow us to see our allies outside of this squad, also these can be turned off or configured should the enemy jam these signals, it's not a fool proof system, but it's better than nothing.

"Anyway, other than these I've asked the pilot to warn us about fifteen minutes before we start the drop so we can change into the more fitting snowtrooper armor, Then we're going to load up our commando armor in our bags, pack them on the swoops, then after we've bust through the lines and entered the facility we'll change into the commando armor and stash the snow armor so we can retrieve it when we leave. The reason we're switching to the commando armor is obviously because it will better fit our mission once we're inside, the snowtrooper armor won't offer us much in the way of advantages in there. Anyway, until then try to get some sleep."

The squad went up, grabbed their locating chip, and plugged it into their comm. system, then they each tried to find a way of occupying their time until the landing, Snipes decided to sleep. And so, leaning against a bulkhead Snipes quickly slipped into slumber and began snoring, loudly.

Rogue had a few drinks and felt tipsy before he left the bar he had to go to the barracks and gather his kit for the mission while most of the equipment will be supplied for him on the spot, but Rogueboy never went on a mission without his sword it was a mark of freedom of how he now had control over his life. Rogue let out a soft chuckle did he really have control over his life? It's not that he was a coward but he felt moving against Thrawn was almost suicide but if we were to join forces with him...

"Quit dreaming Rogue you know life is never easy."

The inside voice that Rogue detested so much spoke up.

So your so scared it's got you talking to yourself.

Screw you, I am not afraid of death.

No, your not but your afraid of watching your squad die.

Of course I am, Raiders has become the family I was robbed of in my youth.

And just like your original family these will be taken from you.

With that the voice went back into his head, Rogue never knew what makes it come out and it only goes away when it wants. Rogue entered the barracks and gave a few salutes to off duty soldiers, shook the hand of one, there seemed to be a general consensus amongst the regular VE troops that anyone who is going to Illum will not be coming back. Rogue was surprised that the regulars already knew about the mission even though it was a top secret meeting. Rogue sighed and turned down the hall towards the Raiders section of the barracks he used his card to open the door and entered the Raiders lounge.

Rogue looked around at the soft couches set out all facing a fireplace that was currently not being used. Rogue walked through a doorway and entered the Raiders mess hall, turning right he went up a stairway and entered the room he is now sharing with Leon. Rogue looked up at the plain bunk beds, the general rule being whoever is less drunk gets the top, Rogue went into his closet and decided to change, he stripped down to his boxers and put on a wife beater, he than went to the safe that took up the majority of room and started fiddling around with the combination, putting in the combination Rogue presented his keycard and swiped it, finally the door opened. Inside was all the personal weapons and armour that Rogue and Leon purchased at the store with their private funds. Rogue pulled out his blade and set it on the lower bunk, he than pulled out his snowtrooper uniform and started putting it on piece by piece, finally dressed Rogue donned the helmet and adjusted the temperature for the warmer than expected environment. Rogue bent his knee and said a prayer to Succellus his god of war, he than stood up attached his blade to his hip pulled it out and put using a can of oil he greased it up and hoped it would freeze and jam on him when the time came.

-----------------------Raiders
Faithful To The EndHe will give them death, and they will love him for it -Gladiator

[This message has been edited by Rogueboy
(edited December 13, 2006
3:13:47 PM)]

jag felComNet Cadet

[VE-ARMY] Private First Class

Post Number: 228
Total Posts: 439
Joined: Jul 2006
Status: Offline

RE: A Gift for Thrawn (HSC)

December 13, 2006
3:24:42 PM

Jag drinking with Riqimo and Jelly Bean, there datapad's beeped simultaneously, each reflexively pulling it out straight away. Seeing as it was from Garet he knew his drinking time was cut short for the deployment of every squad. Usually quite cool this would be his first real battle sanctioned by the VE. Reading the message he wasn't happy to see that Garet didn't want any additional equipment.

They got up when Riqimo had an additional message. He read the message and said, "You two go on ahead I've got some more stuff to do." He walked off without another word.

When they reached the Eclipse barracks they went to their separate rooms. Jag looked around at his mess and picked up a discarded tibanna gas cartridge for his DeeCee-fifteen pistol and decided because the thing was small he'd bring it along and leave it on the ship if Garet didn't want him to bring it along.

Just as Riqimo entered Jag recieved another message on his datapad from Garet hoping that his explosives training was up to date. He thought about that and must of realised that it had something to do with the mission.

He and Jelly Bean walked out of the squad's barracks with Riqimo falling behind still trying to fit stuff into his medpack.

When they were aboard the ship Dominiom Jag was checking his 'toys' for the mission. Now in his snowtrooper armor he felt strange with only this kind of armor in simulations. When he reached the briefing room he walked over to the others and caught Riqimo asking about a veradicator and asked what it was. Jag lost interest after a while and brought out his carbine and started his final equipment check.

"The fate of the free world is in the hands of a bunch of hustlers and thieves" XXX2
"Say hello to my little friend" Tony Montana
"Im going to make him an offer he cant refuse"
"Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer" Godfather

When Rogueboy left, the rest of the squad decided that they should get a move on to, and all hurried off to there dorms. Leon was glad that he was starting on a good note, and so far his squad mates seemed pretty cool. But he hadn't met all of them yet, there was still the Barabel, who Leon was kind of excited to meet, being that he had never seen one in his life. Darr-Rann, the Squad Leader, seemed like a pretty mellow guy, but by the looks of it, something was troubling him. Something actually seemed to be troubling the whole squad, but Leon didn't want to be nosy, and decided to drop it for the time being. And Aeos, she had probably one of the nicest bodies Leon had ever seen, but something inside of Leon told him that she was off limits, and he would leave it that way.

A few minutes later, Leon arrived at his dorm to find Rogueboy brandishing his sword.
"Wow, I want one of those, how much can I buy it for?" Leon asked in a childish tone.

"Sorry bud, I don't think you're strong enough to handle this baby," Rogueboy replied with a sheepish grin on his face.

"What ever, I like my babies better," Leon said while reaching into there weapons safe and revealing a series of Fly high throwing knives and a Treppus-2 Vibroblade. He then pulled out his Snowtrooper Armour and quickly put it on. After making sure everything was in check, Leon went over to Rogueboy who had just finished brandishing his sword, and tapped his shoulder. "I think we should start heading over to the hangar now, don't you?"

"Yup, lets start heading over there, and just thought I should point this out, but, you take longer then women to change," the two stared at each other for a moment, both grinning, until Rogue broke the silence. "I'm not that handsome, but hey, if you think I am that's all right."

"Ha-ha, you wish man. Now let's go."

A couple of minutes later, Rogueboy and Leon found themselves waiting at the Docking Bay, the rest of the squad no where to be seen. "You sure were supposed to meet here Rogue?"

"For the third time in a row Leon, yes, were in the right place, just sit back and relax," and that's exactly what they both did.

-----------------------Raiders
May god have mercy upon my enemies, for I will show none.
TRP/LCP Leon/3SQD/1PLT/1CMP/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA
And so we go.
I am the one...The one who made the 100,000 post.

TnepresComNet Initiate

[VE-ARMY] Private First Class

Post Number: 176
Total Posts: 585
Joined: Nov 2006
Status: Offline

RE: A Gift for Thrawn (HSC)

December 13, 2006
5:52:37 PM

Talstorin watched as Snipes drifted off to sleep. He had only spent a couple of days, hardly more than a week, with Snipes and already he felt they knew had knew each other since forever. He fit in nicely with his squad, they were just one big happy, drunken, dysfunctional family. The trooper got up, his snow trooper armor rattling as he did. It was significantly heavier than the normal armors, it was good thing they only needed them temporarily. Finding a nice place to sit down, he finally sat down next to Leth, who had fell asleep as well. To be honest, he was surprised with Leth's recovery, as Leth had suffered great injuries during the last mission. He shuddered at the thought and memories.

With a heavy sighed, Talstorin shifted himself on the seat, resting his head against the wall. Closing his eyes to rest, he attempted to drift off into a nap. Upon closing his eyes, he realized just how uncomfortable his armor was. The inside of the helmet felt humid and musky, the armor as a whole felt bulky and restrictive. He hated it already. Bearing the discomfort, he repeated to himself: "You'll get it off soon. . ." It wasn't long before the previous mission gotten to the rest of the squad. Almost everyone was asleep now, save Arnaut and Yoder. Talstorin felt a sudden wave of drowsiness overcome him, his eyes lazily shutting as he fell into a light nap.

Talstorin walked down the metal hall, his boots making loud clangs against the floor. He walked slowly, in a rhythm. The halls were plain and boring, no doors, no marks, just plain, flat walls. He lifted up his arms, noticing manacles on his wrists, the chains attached to them had been snapped off. A shackle was also around his neck, constricting his neck forcefully, making it hard to breath. Not knowing where he was, he just walked forward, not because he wanted to but because something inside his head controlled him to. So he aimlessly walked down the great hall.

For what seemed like hours later, he heard a sound behind him. The ground shook suddenly, like an earthquake. Suddenly, the metal tiles on the ground behind him rose up, finally detaching from the floor itself leaving a big gaping hole. He spun around, finding a huge storm trooper hand rise out of the hole. He backed away a bit, looking up. The hand cracked it's knuckles, then slammed downwards at Talstorin. He ran quickly, using all his energy to get as far from the hand as possible. It was no use. The hand caught a hold of him, clenching him tightly. Talstorin opened his mouth and-

"What girl?" asked Talstorin as he took off his helmet to rub his eyes.

"That girl, with the red here, on that asteroid."
Talstorin flinched. Yoder was the only one who knew of the contact he made with Sarah. Talstorin never told anyone, though Yoder was there when it happened. Finally, he opened his mouth again. "She was, a, er. . . past. . ."

Yoder cut in. "Lover?"

Talstorin felt his face turn red. "NO!" He slapped on his helmet quickly. "A friend, just a friend."

Yoder snickered. "Oh, I see. So. . . did you hear about Dark Dragoon's new recruit?"

Talstorin shook his head. "No, why?"

Yoder continued. "He's supposed to be quite good, his callsign was Durandal I think."

Talstorin froze at those words. Durandal? It had been a while since he had seen Durandal, it looked like he finally caught onto him. He had left his roommate a note, announcing his permanent departure after the "incident"(ooc: consult biography/ sample post in bio for reference) He had wondered what happened to the boy from time to time but it turned out he had joined the empire too. It was a good thing, he guessed. Better an ally than an enemy.

Yoder poked him. "Hello? Thrawn to Tnepres."

"Oh!" He jumped up. "Yea, that's interesting. I'm going to, er, stand over there now." With that, he left Yoder and walked to a different part of the ship, sitting down. He began to collect his thoughts.

-----------------------In the brightest light,
We find darkness...-=Wraith Squad=--=TRP=-TRP/PFC Tnepres/4SQD/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE[LoR]Memoirs of a Withered Soul- Compendium of Short Stories on Talstorin's Background/Story of Talstorin and Durandal( out now- read it on army story board)Happy Holidays! Cause Wraith is going to leave you others in the dust for the HSC

[This message has been edited by Tnepres
(edited December 13, 2006
7:03:30 PM)]

KamiComNet Member

[VE-ARMY] Gunnery Sergeant[VE-DJO] Dark Jedi Knight

Post Number: 982
Total Posts: 1884
Joined: Mar 2004
Status: Offline

RE: A Gift for Thrawn (HSC)

December 13, 2006
6:20:05 PM

Kami made her quickly across the hangar floor to the shuttle which would be the Dark Dragoons ride to Illum. Clad now within the bulky armor of a snowtrooper, she was alternating between feelings of intense anxiety and the subsequent fatigue caused by stress. Having already downed three cafs during her rush to ready herself following her debriefing with Fury she mentally banned herself from consuming anymore in-flight despite the exhaustion she was feeling. It would do her and her squad no good if her coffee rush died mid charge into a group of Thrawn's men.

"Kami, hurry it up!"

Sam, his snowtrooper helmet tucked under his arm, was gesturing from the boarding ramp of the shuttle. Behind him, the shuttle's engines roared to life, reinstating the fact that the Dragoons were already well behind the others. Forcing her herself into a jog, Kami crossed the last few meters of the hangar in seconds,

"Sorry Sammy, everyone ready?"

Her squad leader stood back to allow her to pass into the confines of the shuttle, "Locked and loaded."

Kami charged forward into the interior of the shuttle, feeling the aircraft rise from the hangar floor beneath her feet as she did so. Following the cramped corridor, she abruptly found herself in the lounge, where the Dragoons were sprawled across couches and tables, helmets strewn at their feet.

"Bout time you got here Gunny!" Kael offered a crooked smile and a wink from where he was sitting propped up against the shuttle wall, playing cards in hand, "We thought you weren't going to make it."

"Sorry boys," Kami cast herself down next to a helmeted Dragoon on the closest couch, "I was delayed."

"Give the lady a break," Sam dropped down into a plush chair, "Besides, she got us a nice ride didn't she?"

"No hot tub though," Durandal spoke up from where he was opposite Kael, engaged in the intense card game, "I have to admit I was disappointed."

"Mm, that would be nice," Galant agreed from where he was standing in at the rear of the lounge, "Sounds as though we could all be using one soon."

"Could always just pee in our suits if we get overly cold," Kael jibed, offering a shrug, "Though that's decidedly less classy and enjoyable than a hot tub."

The newest member to the Dragoons, Urakai, pulled a face, "Ew. I vote no peeing thank you."

"I second that," Kami murmured, attempting to get comfortable on the lumpy couch.

"I third that," Sam pointed a gloved finger at his suit, "Besides, this is all we need to keep warm down there."

"I gather we'll be too busy staying alive to have time to worry about the cold."

Kami jolted awake at the sound of the voice next to her. The helmeted Dragoon, who she had assumed was Sayah, turned to met her gaze unflinchingly, "Problem Gunny?"

"Where's Sayah?" She asked, her green gaze flicking to Sam's.

He offered a knowing smile, "Up front with the Captain."

Turning back to the trooper besides her, Kami arched a questioning eyebrow, "Zaf?"

Jelly looked down at his data pad as it beeped frantically announcing that He had received a message from Garet. "Alright boys, this is it. Get your gear and get on the transport within five minutes. Bring only the designated equipment."

Following suit with Jag and Riqimo he paid for his drink and followed them out of the Bar. "This stinks standard issue equipment" Jelly said with Disgust as he checked over the equipment list. " Also we can't bring any personal weaponry according to Garet." Jelly then checked the supply list for the Squad a second time and perked up when he saw the speeder bikes assigned to the squad . He made a mental note and didn't make anymore complaints.

"Well you can go talk to Garet about your equipment if you have any real issues with the list" Jag retorted "He might be accommodating."

Jelly nodded and headed off towards the hanger to talk with Garet. There he found Garet overseeing the last of the equipment being loaded up onto the transport . When Jelly had assessed it was the proper time to approach him he walked slowly up behind him. "Sir?" Jelly said quizzically throwing in a polite Salute .

"Yes Private Jelly?" Garet returns with an air of authority. "Sir I was wondering If I could bring my Vibroblade along for the mission as I might need it." Asked Jelly quickly. "Sure" answered Garet simply. Jelly then saluted and ran off to pack his equipment.

No less than 12 minutes later Jelly was on the Loading ramp of the shuttle behind Riqimo and Jag. Garet then ordered for everyone to make final sweep of their equipment. When everybody had given thumbs up signal He ordered them onto the ship in an orderly fashion. Jelly hurriedly followed Jag onto the ship sitting in between him and Riqimo.

Jelly Bean slowly caught his breath which he had somehow lost in all the excitement . He proceeded to take out his equipment and scanned through it making any modifications he needed. During this time Jelly cleaned his Vibroblade and began to slightly paint his Carbine a dull gray for better camouflage. After which he calibrated the rifle with his eye for any long range firing he might need it for.

"So Riqimo you see the speeders we're going to be using." Asked Jelly. "No why?" Said Riqimo dully as he organized his medical supplies. "We're using OverRacers which are much faster then our NightFlacons." He said with excitement in his voice. Riqimo just nodded and went back to his task.

Jelly finished his weapons check and organized everything properly for easy loading onto the bike. He then proceed to relax and meditate during a bit of the Journey.
Jelly slowly drifted off to sleep quietly waiting for them to land at their next destination.

-----------------------EclipseSquad

TRP/PFC Jelly Bean/2SQD/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE/Tadath

"Only problem with my Job. I dont get to see a surprised look on your face."

RiqimoComNet Initiate

[VE-ARMY] Lance Corporal

Post Number: 139
Total Posts: 2380
Joined: Oct 2006
Status: Offline

RE: A Gift for Thrawn (HSC)

December 13, 2006
7:39:06 PM

Wandering around the base, Riqimo gazed at a holo-terrain model that was at the center of the control rooms. Observing it, he saw it was just plain snowy plains and a few rocky areas, turning to the tech who had made the model he asked, "How accurate is this thing?"
The tech, surprised at being addressed, stampered, "Uh, well, it is fairly accurate using terrain maps about five years old and for the base we just assumed standard Imperial base layouts, with some slight changes due to terrain features."

"So its not really accurate?" Riqimo glared at the tech.

"Err, no," he answered adding "sir," as an after thought.

Riqimo, disappointed, left the bridge and continued his random wandering, accidentally wandering into the Raider section. After some apologies, he left and figured he better head back to the Eclipse bunks.

There, he pulled out his C-3POD and began studying his medic manuals on winter survival tactics while listing to the Twisted-Rancor Trio.

Jelly came in and tripped over some medical supplies Riqimo had left about. When he got up, they had a brief conversation and Jelly went to sleep.

I guess I'm gonna want some more cold remedies for this mission... Riqimo told himself as he got up and looked for the medical wing, hoping they would have some extras.

Subtle and insubstantial, the expert leaves no trace; divinely mysterious, he is inaudible. Thus he is master of his enemy's fate.

[This message has been edited by Riqimo
(edited December 14, 2006
6:06:42 PM)]

Jelly BeanComNet Initiate

[VE-ARMY] Private First Class

Post Number: 107
Total Posts: 811
Joined: Nov 2006
Status: Offline

RE: A Gift for Thrawn (HSC)

December 13, 2006
8:14:58 PM

Jelly awoke from his seemly brief nap to Garet's announcement "Ok people up and at em get your equipment and follow me into the hanger." Jelly gathered up his things and helped Riqimo with his scattered medical supplies. "Did you have to bring so much of these cold remedies?" Jelly asked as he looked at a bottle of Zaline Healant which he then tossed in Riqimo's direction. Jelly stared at him blankly as Riqimo nearly dropped it.

After the Squad had gathered their gear they meet Garet on the Hanger deck. "Ok we have been assigned a bunk area for only us during our stay." Garet said addressing the group. "Also we will be neat during our stay and please try not to get lost we will have bunk area mapped on your data pads." With this a tech on the deck moved about the group uploaded relevant map data to each squad member's pad." Any questions? Good I will brief you all when the time comes you are all dismissed." Garet proceeded on his business as the Squad gave him a salute and departed.

Jelly and Jag helped Riqimo carry his supplies to the room which still weren't packed away. "Jeessh Riqimo you really aren't organized." Jag said in a slightly irritated tone. Riqimo just laughed nervously and quickly stuffed medical books and medicines into his bag to help lighten their loads.

After a couple minutes of getting lost from the jumbled maze of corridors and poorly mapped sections the trio arrived at the Eclipse bunk area. The Doorway was conveniently marked with the Eclipse name. Breathing hard from the trip they dropped the rest of Riqimo's things on a nearby bunk. "Be right back I got to go get the rest of my stuff." Jelly said still trying to catch his breath.

He hurried down the maze of corridors and finally to the hanger. Jelly retrieved the rest of his things and quickly waved at Garet during his departure. Jelly had little trouble making it back to the bunks. He did however encounter a couple Raiders that he couldn't identify grumbling about some idiot medic rushing in on them in there bunks. "Sounds like Riqimo to me." Thought Jelly.

He entered the room headed towards his bed in the process of which he tripped over Riqimo's still scattered things. Luckily without hurting himself to bad. He slowly climbed onto his bunk and made some quick conversation with Riqimo until he could fall asleep.

-----------------------EclipseSquad

TRP/PFC Jelly Bean/2SQD/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE/Tadath

"Only problem with my Job. I dont get to see a surprised look on your face."

RiqimoComNet Initiate

[VE-ARMY] Lance Corporal

Post Number: 140
Total Posts: 2380
Joined: Oct 2006
Status: Offline

RE: A Gift for Thrawn (HSC)

December 13, 2006
8:55:58 PM

Riqimo's thoughts kept nagging at him, the little voices telling him every flaw of his plan, even the non-existent flaws. Pushing these thoughts aside, Riqimo asked Garet a question, I have an idea, it would involve moving our Deployment Zone (DZ), however. Instead of deploying with the rest of the troops, we land on the opposite side sort of to the side. For example let's assume the main body is deploying on the south side of the base. What we do is land far to the northeast or northwest where they can't detect us and then we race on to our objective. The enemy should be concentrating on the main force, bulking up their defenses there, leaving us with less resistance.

But then we can't get support easily, Typex responded.

I know, but the advantage may be worth that disadvantage, Riqimo answered, Anyways, anyone know the weather report?

Riqimo figured what the heck and pulled out his datapad and to start composing a message to Kami:

On behalf of Eclipse squad, I like to have a detailed weather report so that tactics may be laid out. I understand if you do not have one as of yet, but as soon as you do, please send it. Eclipse thanks you.
-LCP Riqimo

Riqimo pushed "send", and hoped Kami would be able to send a reply before their meeting was over.

Subtle and insubstantial, the expert leaves no trace; divinely mysterious, he is inaudible. Thus he is master of his enemy's fate.

YillisComNet Member

[VE-ARMY] Corporal[VE-VEEC] Gaming Reporter

Post Number: 840
Total Posts: 1598
Joined: Mar 2005
Status: Offline

RE: A Gift for Thrawn (HSC)

December 13, 2006
8:55:59 PM

Yillis was sleeping for a good ten minutes before his first dream started...
"Hey Wals, where you going?"

Yillis was walking down a dirt road, and looked up to a bridge he needed to cross, where his buddy Fio was sitting off the side.

"Hey Fio, I'll give you one guess," replied Yillis with a smile on his face.

"Holy man, you need to stop going there all the time, you're gonna get sick of her."

"Nah, don't think I ever will, she's perfect..." Yillis couldn't help but grinning. The love he felt for her was unexplainable. In a word, it was right...

"UGH!" Yillis awoke to a sleeping Talstorin falling sideways into Yillis. He just shoved him to the floor, and closed his eyes again, regaining sleep quickly.
...Yillis was looking out a window watching the couple walk down the street, holding hands, laughing. He could feel the anger boiling his blood. Betrayed on so many levels. He didn't know what he was going to do, or what would be the consequences, he did know one thing, and it was that he couldn't live seeing them together...

The dream faded out, but soon after, another came into focus...
...Yillis was walking along a narrow path, empty space on both sides, looking forward he saw a lone person, male.

"I'm glad you dream of me Wals. Ghosts don't exist, so I can't haunt you that way."

"Fio, I have no regret. None. And you cannot act like you didn't kill me first."

"Hahaha, Wals, you are such a fool. She never loved you. She was mine, before, during, and after whatever you called your time with her."

"You are a liar."

"Am I? Why don't you ask her yourself?"

Yillis took a step back as smoke started to form in front of Fio. Slowly taking shape as a young woman, Yillis started to recognize her.

"No, stop!" Yillis taking more steps backwards, finally slipped and fell off the edge of the path, to the laughter above, male, and female...

Yillis startled to life back in the ship, falling out of his dream into the real world. Yoder jumped back from where he was standing, dangerously close to snipes, and asked, "Uh you ok sir?"

"Uh..heh...I dunno..."

Yoder just gave him a quizzical look, and Yillis noticed he kept looking over at Snipes.

[This message has been edited by Yillis
(edited December 13, 2006
8:57:50 PM)]
[This message has been edited by Yillis
(edited December 13, 2006
9:02:45 PM)]
[This message has been edited by Yillis
(edited December 13, 2006
9:10:19 PM)]
[This message has been edited by Yillis
(edited December 13, 2006
9:13:01 PM)]

Darr-RannComNet Veteran

[VE-ARMY] Sergeant[VE-VEEC] Reporter

Post Number: 1093
Total Posts: 1587
Joined: May 2005
Status: Offline

RE: A Gift for Thrawn (HSC)

December 13, 2006
9:08:32 PM

I've failed again. Darr-Rann thought to himself as he packed equipment, I've let another die.

The death of Mak'Tur Josu haunted him. He was a fresh trooper. He didn't deserve to go in the way he did. He looked to the table, were the troopers dogtags rested. He'd have to bring them to the family. Explain to them how he had been taken in such a treacherous way, and offer them the little comfort he could provide. The trooper would be avenged, as well.

Sometimes, I really hate this. He thought to himself. Death had hardened him - The Rannik Cedaan of just a few years ago was dead, replaced by a colder, sadder man. Every time a fellow soldier died, he was losing a commrad. Every time one of his squad died, it was like losing family.

He was just too damned young. He thought to himself. He thought back to all of the people he had lost. The resistance, scattered squadmates, Evani...

He shook his head, then walked over to the desk and picked up the tags. They shined bright, untarnished by the wear of age. He opened a small chest on a table beside his bed, placing them inside. I have to focus on the squad. Raiders needs strong leadership, especially in times like this.

He walked over to his armory door, putting his eyes against the retinal scanner. The door slid open, and he walked inside. He already had his snowtrooper armor sent down for packing, so he proceeded to the end of the room, where his weaponry lay. He drew a pair of vibroblades from a weapons rack, sheathing them and placing them in the bag which he had brought with him. He also grabed a pair of silenced slugthrower pistols, along with ammunition.

Last, he took his blaster shotgun. He had been given the weapon by a dying friend, his first mentor in warfare. He carefully placed in in the pack as well, along with it's sheath and extra energy cells. He pulled the zipper on the bag then walked out, hoisting the container over his shoulder.

I've grieved a lot in my life. Now it's time to pick it up and keep fighting.

Leth groaned in his sleep. His face hurt a helluva lot. The medics had told him to keep his face free from pressure, and there he was now, off on another mission. It was ridiculous. He stirred slightly, rolling to the left side, he grumbled.

Leth sniffled, sitting down on a rock. He clenched the dirty sleeve. It only took a minute for the boy's strength to let go. Within moments, he relinquished all control he had over his emotions and with that, he cried. Tears and mucus went onto his dirty rag sleeve, the boy breathed heavily between sobs. Behind him, stood the father, watching the short boy, only 4 foot 6 at the time, wail into the night.

The father was emotionless, his stern face remained neutral. He was buff, his skin rough and callous from working. The man just stood there and watched. To a stranger, it would have been impossible to tell, that the man had just lost a wife. Her body was still there. In the run down shack behind, in the background, half hidden in the penumbra of forest shades. The womans body hung there on a rope. The man turned back and walked back to his house. In the distance, the boy wailed again.

Leth groaned again, waking up. He opened his eyes, first seeing Yoder reading a book, then seeing Talstorin in the corner. It was alright, he thought to himself. It was alright. He got up and looked around, his face hurting more than snipes's head on a sunday morning.

________

Draken just couldn't seem to sleep. He tossed and turned the entire trip. Though he had just gone on a mission that tested his endurance, he was just too excited about the next one. At last he gave up and looked at the cieling. The metal cieling was boring, much to his dismay. It had tiles, gray and bland, metal studs protruding from the cold iron surface. Like life, boring and uneventful with a few rough bumps along the way. Draken slapped his head. What a stupid metaphor. He turned to the right and stared at Yoder, who was reading a book.((ooc: Just a small tidbit so the other members dont feel left out))

-----------------------In the brightest light,
We find darkness...-=Wraith Squad=--=TRP=-TRP/PFC Tnepres/4SQD/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE[LoR]Memoirs of a Withered Soul- Compendium of Short Stories on Talstorin's Background/Story of Talstorin and Durandal( out now- read it on army story board)Happy Holidays! Cause Wraith is going to leave you others in the dust for the HSC

[This message has been edited by Tnepres
(edited December 13, 2006
9:23:00 PM)]